I never thought I would be saying this, but I miss Buffalo. It’s been more than eight years since I left Western New York to eventually move to the West Coast of Florida, and no one was happier than I to escape the endless months of cold weather, the slow economy and living in a Rust Belt city with aspirations to be more — much more.

Yet here I am, wishing I was sitting at the bar in the Old Pink, chowing down on a juicy mega-burger and drinking beer straight out of the bottle, or hanging out in the Lafayette Tap Room, listening to some really good blues.

Instead, I find myself living in a beautiful city, full of beautiful, affluent people — I am not one of them — with some of the finest beaches in the world. But there is no character. No soul. I can’t seem to muster the same feelings for this place as I have for Buffalo, and I am unsure why.

So I get to thinking of the contrasts between Western New York and the Gulf Coast, and the similarities. It’s not to say that it doesn’t get cold here. It does, but not from frost, ice or snow, it’s from air-conditioning.

We dress in layers, too, but unlike living in Buffalo, we put our jackets on when we go inside. We don’t wear thick socks, never mind several pairs at once. We wear the thinnest ones possible. The last time I tried to put boots on, they wouldn’t fit. I can only think that it’s because my feet have spread due to wearing sandals and flip-flops 10 months of the year.

We wear hats for effect, not out of necessity. It shows that we live here, and are not just snow birds — it’s an elitist thing.

We don’t sit outside at bars, cafes and restaurants for more than three months of the year, because it’s too hot and humid. In Buffalo, everyone piles onto the sidewalk after the last thaw, and stays there until the first snow.

I remember tailgating at Ralph Wilson Stadium, with the snow piled so high it towered 15 feet over the parking lot on every side. It was like being in a freezer. We loved it.

Speaking as an applied medical anthropologist and certified health coach, we even share seasonal health issues, but for different reasons. For example, our sinuses dry up just as much with central air as yours do with central heating. You have to use humidifiers to put some moisture back into the air. We have to use dehumidifiers, because while it may be crisp and cool indoors, the second we open a door or window, in blows air thick enough to cut with a knife. The net result: We both get upper respiratory tract infections.

In Buffalo, you get seasonal allergies, like in spring or fall. Here we have some kind of tree, grass, bush, flower or shrub blooming at some point in every single month of the year. And we have mold — lots and lots of mold. People here get heat stroke. In Buffalo, it’s hypothermia.

There, you get seasonal affective disorder from being deprived of sunlight, and being shut in during the long, cold, dark months. We get it from being forced indoors in the long summer months, when we retreat to our air-conditioning, safe from the stifling heat and humidity from May until November.

I miss the stillness after a big snow. I miss seasons. I miss a city with heart. Heck, Buffalo, I really do miss you.